Fallen Embers
by swanheartthief
Summary: The Swan Princess AU. When Rumplestiltskin is banished from the kingdom, he swears vengeance, even if it means using his own son as a weapon. He plans on bringing his son and the Princess, Emma, together in hopes they will become close so that they can destroy the kingdom from within. But he makes a fatal error - underestimating true love. Swan Thief/Swanfire.


**Author's Note – **As I stated on my tumblr, I was working on a Swan Princess AU, and in the process of developing this, it's also picked up pieces from Lion King 2 and Tangled. So... yep. Thanks for reading and being part of my evil experiments.  
**Disclaimer – **I do not own Once Upon a Time, The Swan Princess, or any other Disney movies my plot muses throw at me. (And they are evil little things!)

* * *

_**I. **la luna_

"My Lord! We've found it!"

David barely heard the voice of his knight above the roaring winds of the blizzard. The snow and gusts raged around them, casting the world around them in a blinding white curtain. The air around them was frozen and heavy as David's horse plowed its way dutifully through the drifts where Lancelot was digging at the barren ground beneath. Upon arrival, the King's heart lit up with relief, the golden glow of the petals nearly lost in the snow around it. Dismounting his horse, David reached carefully into the icy hole, ever so gently unearthing the flower that was emitting the sacred light.

"It's more beautiful than I ever imagined," David breathed as he carefully began releasing the fragile roots from the tundra. "This is truly a gift from the gods."

"I pray this will be the cure for what ails your wife. We are fast running out of options Your Majesty. The curse is very powerful."

"This will work. Have faith, Lancelot. My wife was not named carelessly. The snow is beautiful and delicate, but winter is also the most formidable season."

Grinning, Lancelot took the flower from David, wrapping it slowly into a blanket of sheep's fur, hidden from the weather. It was not lost on him that the kingdom's very last hope might be within its confinement.

They'd tried everything – potions, charms, medicines, rituals. Nothing could lift the poison from the Queen's body, vain like trying to clean blood from fallen snow. David's father, King George, was a ruthless man whom, in one last act of scorn, poisoned her when David had refused to comply with his wishes. David and his army of rebels had managed to overthrow him and regain control of the kingdom, but not before George escaped into exile, taking any antidote there was with him. If David would not cooperate, George was determined that he would not be able to build a royal bloodline and that the line would end with his and Snow's passing, allowing George's family to regain control. Unfortunately, infertility was not the poison's only effect and Snow grew increasingly ill, deteriorating until she was all but on her deathbed. It wouldn't be much longer before she slipped away.

With Lake Nostos barren after the death of the siren who controlled it, David feared they'd run out of options until the Blue Fairy had informed them of the Golden Sunflower, rumored to have the capability to heal any sickness or injury, no matter how dire. It was even rumored to have the power to resurrect the dead. Upon learning of its existence, David launched a massive search for its whereabouts which, until the present day, had been fruitless due to the never ending storm. This winter was one of the harshest anyone could remember and the constant barrage of ice tempests made travel nearly impossible. The royal doctors had informed him that Snow had mere days to live, and so David set out with no hesitation, despite the danger, to find the hidden miracle.

David and Lancelot raced back to palace, a day's journey nearly cut in half, another miracle granted unto them. Throwing himself through the doorway, David immediately handed the flower over to the doctor who wasted no time preparing the potion. Snow, as glass-like and pale as her namesake, barely opened her eyes, a whisper escaping soft, dry lips. "David...you're home..."

"Yes my love," David said, pain laced through every word, "I couldn't fail. I won't lose you. Whatever else may come, your death will not."

Smiling at him weakly, Snow reached for his hand, clinging to it with all the life she could muster while David reached for the bedside, bringing a glass of water to her lips. Sipping gratefully, she shakily handed it back to him before the pillow claimed her, eyes fluttering closed, all strength she had used in sitting up. Worriedly, David stared out the doorway where the doctor disappeared, prayer in every breath. The doctor instantly reappeared in the room, as if he'd heard the silent summons. Hurriedly rushing towards the bed, the dwarf clumsily handed the bowl to David, a clear broth of water and crushed flower bathing within. Lifting his wife's head, David brought the bowl to her lips, letting the liquid flow while she struggled to swallow.

It was instantaneous. Gone was the shadow of death, replaced with gentle sunshine. Even the winds outside seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, fading away until even the storm began to break outside. Ashen skin regained its color, green eyes lighting up while they fluttered to life, the Queen beamed at her husband, breathless as she questioned him. "It's over?"

"Yeah... it's over." David smiled back at her, once again reaching for her hand.

Pushing herself up, Snow reached for the nightstand, pulling a necklace from the hidden drawer at the top. Looking at her husband both excitedly and expectantly, she held the medallion over her hand, the chain clinking as the amulet rocked back and forth above her hand, east to west, a long awaited wish fulfilled.

"We're going to have a child..."

_**One Year Later**_

Wishes were like fallen embers. They would glow brightly as they fell, fed by the air around them, slowly free falling to the ground until they were almost within your reach. And once they hit the frozen pavement, they burnt out just as fast as they came, like stars.

Truthfully, they'd never wanted a family because they wanted to continue the bloodlines, even if they did have to factor it in as one of their responsibilities. But truth be told, they just wanted to be together, and to love, and to grow old as one. And yet it seemed like fate constantly had other plans for them.

Snow sat on the stone edged balcony, not even bothering to wrap a cloak around herself in the chilly air. The sun was rising, the kingdom below glittering in the golden light as it peaked through the early morning rain clouds. The apple trees next to her had blossomed early, a few of the petals falling around her, plucked from their blooms. She could only laugh at the irony. The year her daughter had been born had been one of the fiercest winters in memory and it was the happiest moment of her life. But now that she'd been torn from her mother, nature would mock her with an early spring.

Her daughter, her beautiful Emma, had been torn from her, stolen in the middle of the night. Reul Ghorm, patron fairy godmother of their family, believed the kingdom had been enchanted so that no one would wake allowing her to be kidnapped with no warning. Snow could only kneel there, the petals beginning to thread through her hair, her hands in her lap, open and empty. She wasn't sure how long she'd been outside when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Snow looked up, David standing above her as he draped the soft, wool blanket over her shoulders, kneeling beside her and putting his hand on her own. "Snow, please, you need to come inside, your skin is like ice," he told her, worry etched in every feature.

"They took her..." she replied blankly. "They took her and I don't know if she's alone or cold or hungry... she's probably so scared..."or worse..." she trailed off in a sob.

"I know, I know," he whispered soothingly, "I'm scared too. But we must have faith. We must believe that she will find us again. Now come, let us rest awhile longer. We need our strength if we're to find her."

Barring her eyes shut against the tears, Snow leaned into his embrace, the salty sadness darkening her dress where the drops fell. Wrapping the blanket tightly around her, David helped his wife to her feet before helping her inside, pulling her gently into the bed with him. Snow clung to him tightly, her body wracked with misery. He pulled her head underneath his chin, shielding her from seeing his own tears, knowing his wife needed his strength more than ever.

But he knew that neither one of them was going to be sleeping for a long, long time.

…

The King and Queen sat side by side at the round stone table, pouring over maps and papers of all the nearby kingdoms and forests and anywhere someone might be able to hide. Both looked pale and worse for the wear, dark circles painted under their eyes like heavy lead weights.

"This is hopeless..." Snow murmured quietly. "Whoever took her must be long gone by now."

David shook his head fiercely, ink and paint and animal skins melding together in a blurry waltz. They'd been looking for hours, to no avail. "We have to keep looking. She has to be out there somewhere. It's only been a few hours, no ordinary person can span that kind of distance so quickly."

"Ah. Lucky for you, Your Majesty, I am no ordinary man!"

Their heads snapped up, chills shooting electric ice down their spines as they heard the man's dark, insane cackle. Ice rapidly turned to fire, David all but leaping over the table in anger. "What is he doing here?"

Lancelot held the man by the arm, a sword to his neck in the other hand. "We found him on the outskirts of the forest, he was trying to steal one of our sailing vessels."

The man seemed more entertained than threatened by the blade pinching into the thin skin of his throat. "Come now dearie, that play toy is just unnecessary don't you think? You can't kill me! I'm the Dark One!" he laughed with sickening glee, ripping the sword from Lancelot's grasp and tossing it to the side, metal on stone ringing out into the room.

"Enough!" David roared. "What do you know? What the hell did you do to our daughter?!"

"Ah ah ah!" the man shook his finger. "I don't answer to you anymore! You banished me from the kingdom, I am no longer your subject!"

"If you even so much as made her cry, you damn well better believe you will answer to me!"

"Please..." came the soft, desperate plea from behind, "Please just give me back my daughter, I will give you anything... riches, land, anything you want... please don't make me live without my child..." Snow breathed on sorrow laced words, hands fastened tightly to her gown in distress.

"Would love to help you dearie, but what would I possibly need with those things when I can have anything I desire at the flick of my wrist?"

Sharing a defeated look, the couple silently exchanged words, the futile situation. David turned back to him, sighing heavily, deflated as he struggled to remain calm and not tear the only link to his daughter into pieces. "What's your price?"

The imp grinned in victory. "...your crown."

"Absolutely not! I would never let you bring harm to the kingdom!"

"Ah... it's not your kingdom I desire Your Majesty. Too messy. Too many whining people and wanting things. I mean I want your _actual crown_. You know, gold, pointy, jewels..."

"But... you just said you didn't want those things?" Snow questioned.

"I don't. I just want to feel like a King!" he said giddly, waving his arms around in a dance.

Staring at him incredulously, David moved backwards slowly, eyes never leaving the man's in case he tried to attack Snow or attack him from behind. Grabbing the golden spired jewels off the marble table, David moved back to the man, flinging it to his feet in a metallic crash. "I've given you what you asked for, now return our daughter!"

Running his fingers over the glittering edges, the man bore a slow, cheshire grin now, another sinister laugh. "Oh, all in due time Your Majesty. I said I would return your daughter, but I never said how or when! And besides... I want to see you writhe a little."

David lunged at him, his own sword baring down, but was swallowed in a black haze, flung across the room at lightning speed. The other man chided him while David looked up on bent knees.

"Tsk tsk. Is that any way to treat your guests and the one who holds your precious daughter's life in his hands? You shouldn't be angry, after all, it was you who failed to specify how, when, or where she would return to you."

"RUMPLESTILTSKIN!"

"Farewell for now... Your Majesty. And remember... I never forget my promises."

…

"You're late."

Eyes rolled high in the darkness of the woods, nonchalance breaking sticks and crushing dry leaves, as dry as the imp's tone. "What are you, my wife now?"

A heavy sigh came as counter response, carried on the sounds of ocean waves, a woman hidden in the mists as spring storm clouds set in.

"Rumple, you were supposed to be back an hour ago. And I don't know what you did but this coast has been crawling with the King's knights, I nearly got caught."

"Well you're still here aren't you? I can't imagine that the Queen of Wonderland would ever have trouble with a few lowly knights."

"Barely. Though I did manage to get a few hearts... for my collection of course."

"Yes, yes, that's all wonderful. But did you manage to acquire it?"

Sighing with impatience and unimportance, the woman pulled a small, paper scroll from the hidden pocket of her cloak, holding it in front of his eyes. "You're referring to this I assume?"

"Of course dear. I hope it wasn't too much trouble," he said simply, reaching for the paper spell, but not before she tore her hand away.

"Promise me. Promise me that you won't go back on our deal."

"We've been through this Cora."

"I want to hear it again. Now promise me. Swear that when the royals are destroyed my daughter will become Queen."

Rumplestiltskin stared her straight in the eyes, moving to her so that their faces nearly met, crocodile skin and pale cream unable to meld together, a stark contrast, oil and water. "Your daughter will live happily ever after I assure you." And even though she never caught it, there was a false undertow to his words, wrapping like an invisible snake around her body.

Satisfied, Cora pressed the scroll into his palm, shuttering at the unholy touch. "Here it is. The curse of the empty hearted. But why would you want to use such a thing on your own son? He already loves you does he not?"

"This isn't for my son. It's a weapon for him to use at a later time."

"Oh?"

"David is far too smart. And he has Reul Ghorm on his side. Any attempts we make to take the kingdom by force would be met with disaster. We must take it from within."

"I see... you plan on getting your son close to the Princess I assume. So why do you need me?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed, the smile faltering. Uncertainty and what could almost pass for regret flashed in his eyes. "I need you... to teach him magic. I need you to turn him towards the darkness."

Raising a thinly refined eyebrow, Cora could only stare at him. "Why would you wish this life on him? You know what kind of road this is. And besides, why not teach him yourself?"

"You know very well why anyone takes this road. Why I have taken it... why you have taken it... why you've guided your daughter to it. I love my son very much... but I also want him to have a prosperous life. Far too long have we peasants been made the royals' lapdogs. They force us into their wars while they sit safely behind their stone walls unharmed. Power is safety, security... no one stands against you," he trailed off, the thinly veiled rage simmering to the surface.

Cora looked amused. "So you want me to turn your son and get my hands dirty while you remain uncorrupted in his eyes?"

"Yes. Do this for me, and I promise that your daughter will rule all worlds and the seven seas."

"... very well."

…

"Second star to the right... shines in the night for you, to tell you that the plans you dream really can come true... Gleaming in the skies above, lead me to the one who loves me... And when you bring her my way, each time we say goodnight we'll thank the little star that shines second from the right..."

Mournfully the child watched the sapphire skies through the pane of glass, that deep, blue hue that you could only describe by the sadness inside you. The stars sparkled in the distance, blurred by the frost that had begun to gather at the sides of the window. The song he sang was an old legend, from a place he longed desperately to go, one where he'd never have to grow up.

He was young, but he knew something was off about his father, a blackness that he couldn't escape. It scared him.

It was there... there in every smile. Every laugh. Every time his father disappeared in the middle of the night, as if it were taking him home.

And then came the thought... what if that same darkness was inside him too? As he grew, would it end up growing with him and consume him? His father would never let him go... there would be no running.

"No child... you're no monster."

Whirling around startled, the boy nearly fell out of bed, eyes fastened to the vivid aquamarine light floating gently down from the ceiling. "Who... who are you?"

Flying over to him on transparent wings, the fairy met his eye level, wand glowing as she waved it around in show. "They call me the Reul Ghorm- the Blue Star. But I'm known to most as the Blue Fairy."

"You're... a fairy godmother?"

"Yes, that's right. I've heard your wish Baelfire, and I want to help you."

All the awe he held quickly vanished into dust, his face falling with disappointment. "I... I don't think you can help me. My father he... he wants me to do bad things. He tries to pretend everything's okay but he always wants me to do bad things... and I don't wanna hurt anybody..."

The Blue Fairy moved beside him, touching her hand to his shoulder in comfort. "I know you don't. That's why I'm here. I want to protect the light inside of you." With the flick of her wrist, the Blue Fairy turned towards the end of the bed, dancing with the wand in her hand. In a flash of radiance, a bundle of dull brown blankets appeared in his bed, the wailing scream of a child piercing the air. Baelfire unearthed himself from his sheep's wool blanket, peering above the baby with both awe and terror. "Who... who is she?"

"I'm afraid... she's in a lot of trouble. Some very bad people are after her and she's running out of time. She's dying."

"By bad people... you mean my father. Don't you?"

She hadn't wanted to say it aloud so as to spare him the pain, but seeing the pain in his eyes, she couldn't deny him. "I'm afraid so."

Swallowing hard on a shaky breath, Baelfire picked the girl up, cradling her in his arms. And in a small miracle, she ceased crying, cerulean eyes staring up at her captive audience. Baelfire couldn't help but smile as she absentmindedly reached for his hand, but frowned when he noticed the small, black crescent moon marking on the back of hers. "What's this?"

"She's been cursed."

"But why would my father want to hurt a baby? What harm could she possibly do?"

"There isn't much time, but this child is very important. The fate of the world rests on her shoulders. We musn't allow your father to succeed, or the world will be down a very dark path of which there's no returning from, a loveless, gray world. She's been cursed to die as soon as the sun rises. I've been able to subvert the curse into a lesser one, but this is why I need your help."

With no hesitation, Baelfire lifted himself from the bed, the bundle safely resting in his arms, long since having fallen asleep in contentment. "What can I do?"

"Take the child to Lake Nostos, it's only a few hours from here," she said, passing him a simply drawn paper map. "The lake has magical properties and can heal any affliction, magical or otherwise. Unfortunately, the curse is too strong on its own, but the waters will be enough to ensure she does not die. I need you to look after her, each and every day, and protect her with your life. However... there is one catch."

"What is it?"

"You must never make contact with her. She can't know you exist. If you ever come together, great calamity will befall this world and many others."

"I understand..." Baelfire told her, even though the gravity couldn't quite sink into his young mind. He adjusted his grip on his charge, precious porcelain glass wrapped in ordinary skin and fur. Moving through the door, he heard the faint call of the fairy's words behind him.

"And please Baelfire... your father cannot know of this. You must keep this secret safe or all is lost."

…

He wasn't sure how long they'd been walking or how far they'd come. His arms felt leaden and heavy, but he was determined to keep the child safe no matter what. The bright full moon shone overhead, intermittently dimmed by the thin sheer of clouds over head. Lapping waves could be heard nearby, the slow aquatic symphony against a backdrop of croaking frogs and frosted spring winds.

Breathless and tired, Baelfire fumbled through the cattails that lined the mythic lake, kneeling down as he tried to catch his breath. Leaning against the rock next to him, he sank down completely, legs unable to support him anymore. Holding the girl tightly against him, he watched as the pale, silver light lit her skin, her eyes like tiny crystals in glass. He wasn't quite sure why, but every time he looked at her, he felt strange inside- a warm, loving feeling, as if she were somehow beyond her years and made of the sunlight, like they'd met before. And suddenly he never wanted to leave. He wanted to stay with her here on this makeshift beach, and they'd grow up together, and dream together and his father would be like a distant memory of a passing nightmare. They would live here and have a home here, and they'd never have to be alone.

Smiling down at her, Baelfire couldn't help but hold her closer. "So uhm... what's your name?"

When she didn't respond, he began to look around wondering what he should call her, trying to take a name from anything around that might suit her. It seemed wrong that he felt connected to her but he didn't even know her name. "Uhm... what about Rose or uhm... Daisy?" he questioned to himself, scanning the various wildflowers around them, when his eyes fell back on her. He once again noticed the black moon symbol on her hand, and peered into the sky, where blankets of clouds unfolded to reveal the moon for a few precious moments before the curtain dropped again.

"Oh... I know. I can call you Luna," he trailed off. "Like the moonlight."

But beyond the mists, a different sort of light approached, gray and blue and indigo washed together, pushing away the starry lights above, a different kind of threat. Daylight.

It was nearly dawn.

In horror, Baelfire quickly lowered the girl to the ground, bundling the blankets tighter around her, a sudden fear overcoming him. If he left who would care for her? But if his father discovered him missing, things would become far worse. He would be able to sneak out tonight and check on her, surely she could make it through the day, the day was far kinder than night.

Kneeling over her one last time, he softly grasped her hand, whispering to her. "I promise... I'll come back for you. Don't worry. I won't leave you."

Saying a silent prayer, he pushed away from her, tearing back down the overgrown forest trail. After getting a few feet away, he turned to look for her as hesitation set in. But to his shock, he was met only with an empty landscape. She'd vanished into thin air.

The only living sight awake was one lonely swan, floating in still water.

…

It was only a few hours later when he heard the sound of boots crushing straw and the slamming shut of old wooden doors that announced his father's return home. Baelfire pulled the blankets above his head, doing his best to still his breathing when the darkness entered his room. He could feel the pillow sag next to him, something heavy and shiny illuminated in the dim morning light. He had been warm, until his father sent winter through his bones.

"Sleep well my son. One day when you're grown... you will be a King."


End file.
